The present invention relates to a bale sweep for picking up and transporting multiple bales and is intended as a bale lifting device for attachment to a skid steer loader provided with a Universal Skid Steer Quick attach.
When farmers bale agricultural products such as hay and alfalfa, a baler is used to pick up the product and bale the product in a multitude of forms. Most generally, the bales are either large rectangular bales, large round cylindrical bales or small rectangular bales. The present invention is used with the small rectangular bales. The present invention is also used with a skid steer loader, often called a Bobcat® having a Universal Skid Steer Quick Attach. The skid steer loader has the advantage of being small in size and has versatile usages. Generally, skid steer loader loaders have a bucket attachment on the front which can be used to scoop up material and lift the material to a higher height. The present invention replaces the bucket on a skid steer loader loader and can be used for sweeping multiple bales lying on the ground and also for lifting the bales to a position where they can be loaded in a stack or on the bed of a transport truck.
Small bale sweeps are known such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,817,449. The present invention is an improvement over the bale sweep shown in this patent by having a bale sweep specially adapted for use with skid steer loaders. The bale sweep according to the present invention includes a mounting plate for attachment with a Universal Skid Steer Quick Attach mounted to a skid steer loader and also includes a step for easy entry into the skid steer loader.